Eating Seal

(Ottawa, Canada) To show support for commercial seal hunting, the Canadian Parliament will be including seal meat on its restaurant menu. As a consequence, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are protesting.

Members of Parliament and senators soon will be able to decide for themselves when seal meat comes to their swishy private restaurant on Parliament Hill.

"I think it's going to be an attractive addition to the menu when it's available," said Quebec Liberal MP Marcel Proulx, a spokesman for the Board of Internal Economy, which oversees administration of the parliamentary precinct.

The board, made up of MPs from all parties, was first asked to add seal meat to the restaurant's menu in 2008 by senators wanting to show support for the small commercial seal hunt as Canada stared down a European Union trade ban that was adopted this year.

The only problem was finding a reliable supplier of seal meat. [...]

The Magdalen Islands seal hunt, one of less than half a dozen centres for the annual cull, begins in March, meaning parliamentarians could be feasting on the traditional dish in the early spring of 2010.

I'd suggest seal goes well with a robust burgundy.